Compiled and edited by Ed Siemenn RAC Chairman/Advisory Committee
Although it is somewhat of a faint constellation, Coma Berenices is quite interesting because of the dense cluster of galaxies that sweeps through it known as Able 1656. Scanning this region of the sky will reveal multitudes of very faint objects that are actually entire galaxies. Coma Berenices is located between Canes Venatici to the north and Virgo to the south with Leo on the west border and Bootes on the east border. Coma Berenices can also be considered interesting because the
galactic “north pole” is located in this constellation.
The leading star of the constellation, is alpha Com, also known as Diadem. It is a binary system which is extremely difficult to visually split with amateur telescopes. However, the double star 24 Com is an attractive object for small telescopes. It consists of an orange giant of 5th mag, which contrasts beautiful with the blue-white 7th mag companion.
The loose collection of stars located below gamma Com is known as the Coma Star Cluster. There are about 30 stars in this cluster which form a triangular shaped group and are best observed with binoculars. The brightest members in this group are about 5th mag.
M 53
(Mag. 7.7) In small
telescopes M 53 appears as a misty patch. As pictured here this globular is located just above the double star Diadem (alpha Com).
M64
(Mag. 8.5) One of the most famous of the galaxies in this constellation is the Black Eye Galaxy, it got its name from the dark patch of dust near its center. Telescopes with 150 mm aperture and higher and good optics show this “eye in the galaxy."
NGC4725
(Mag. 9.2) This faint but beautiful face on spiral is best viewed in larger telescopes. 4725 is most notable for its intricate dust lane atterns.
NGC 4565
(Mag. 9.6) A very large and beautiful edge-on spiral. NGC 4565 is another showpiece for amateurs, and often used in textbooks, as it is assumed that its view may resemble that of our own Milky Way, seen from outside of its boundaries and situated near its galactic equatorial lane. NGC 4565 is about 31 million light years distant.
NGC4494
(Mag. 9.9) A elliptical type Galaxy exhibiting no spiral structure. 4494 is an example of an early spherical E0 type galaxy which are generally dominated by older, more evolved stars that are orbiting the common center of gravity in random directions. They are believed to form due to the interaction of galaxies, resulting in a collision and merger. They can grow to enormous sizes. Giant elliptical galaxies are often found
near
the core of large galaxy clusters.
NGC 4559
(Mag. 9.9) Another fairly dim spiral NGC 4559 displays bright star forming regions and dust lanes in its expansive arms. A type II supernova was detected in this galaxy (SN 1941a) allowing astronomers to estimate its distance to between 20-30 million light years away. Like many nearby spiral galaxies, it displays bright star-forming regions in its arms.